Alan Turing (1912–1954) was an English mathematician, logician, pioneer of computer science, and wartime code-breaker. He is credited with creating a design for the Automatic Computing Engine (ACE), the early electronic stored-program computer, as well as the Bombe—a decryption device that the British government used during WWII to crack the German “Enigma,” machine, which encrypted secret...

The Russian composer Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) was one of the most influential composers of the twentieth century. His career spanned from the early twentieth century when he composed ballets inspired by Russian myth and the era’s revived interest in distinctly Russian culture, to the experimentation in compositional...

Austrian-born English philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) is considered as one of the most influential—although controversial—thinkers of the 20th century. His work touched on topics such as ethics, logic, and language. Rom Harré is Distinguished Research Professor in the department of Psychology at Georgetown University and Emeritus Fellow of Linacre College...

Scotland’s greatest philosopher, David Hume (1711–1776) was a key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment. He is generally considered one of the three main figureheads along with John Locke and Bishop George Berkley of the influential British Empiricism movement. Although not well-received in his own time, his A Treatise on Human Nature, published in...

Widely considered as one of the top musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis (1926–1991) was a major force in jazz. He was not only a gifted trumpeter and composer, but also an innovator who created a nine-member band called the “nonet,” in which unconventional...

John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) was an influential British economist whose ideas on government intervention in the economy were considered to be both revolutionary and controversial. Nicholas Wapshott, author of ‘Keynes Hayek: The Clash that Defined Modern Economics’, shares his insight on why John Maynard Keynes...

The “Father of Modern Philosophy”, René Descartes (1596–1650) was one of the most prominent voices of the Scientific Revolution. A key philosopher of the 17th century, he developed a connection between algebraic logic and philosophical concepts—a practice that would eventually lead to the creation of...

The author of such literary classics as Ulysses and Finnegans Wake, James Joyce (1882 – 1941) was one of Ireland’s most celebrated novelists known for his avant-garde and often experimental style of writing. Michael Patrick Gillespie is Professor of English at Florida International University and the Director of the Center...

Widely regarded as one of the greatest classical composers of all time, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer, organist, and violinist. During his lifetime, he worked as a teacher and organist and was a prolific composer of choral works, concertos and preludes. The...

British biologist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) laid the foundations of the theory of evolution and transformed the way we think about the natural world. Few books have influenced human thought more than his On the Origin of Species. Published in 1859, it expounded his theory of...